Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has rejected suggestions that his Policy Address on Wednesday was merely a poverty alleviation report.
During a joint radio phone-in programme on Thursday, many callers asked Leung if he saw no need to help the middle-class.
Leung said he had listened to views from the middle-class on several occasions.
He said what they needed was a stable job and stable property prices, while small and medium-sized enterprises wanted more development opportunities.
Leung said these had been dealt with in his Policy Address.
The initiatives unveiled in the Policy Address were aimed at helping the needy and the younger generation. These will incur recurrent expenditure of HK$20 billion a year.
Leung insisted that current revenue can support the proposals and that the government was still operating within its means.
He pointed out that since the establishment of the Special Administrative Region government 16 years ago, it had had more budget surpluses than deficits.
Leung also stressed that government revenue should be spent on those in need rather than handing it out to all. --RTHK